Assignment 1 Fundamentals of Effective Communication in...

Assignment 1: Fundamentals of Effective Communication in the workplace BUS 100 05/10/2014 Professor: The ability to communicate is one of the key factors to have a successful business. You could offer an excellent product or service, but if you’re unable to promote your services and communicate effectively with clients and co-workers the potential for growth is limited. The principle areas of communication are: Purpose, Style and listening. The Purpose: Today’s society focuses on customers’ satisfaction, most business ask the consumer to take surveys to learn more about their experience. It is highly important to make sure our customers leave happy and satisfied with our service, and if they feel any different we need to get†¦show more content†¦Once the client would sit on my chair I would start my client consultation, this process is highly important to make sure we are on the same page as the customer. Listening: During a client consultation I made sure to listen to my client’s needs and use active listening to give the client a sense of confidence and assure them that they would be taken care of, I also made sure to clarify any doubts with the client. For example, when the client would ask to have a haircut or trimming of only one inch, I would always ask them to describe what one inch meant to them. My clientele was constant. My customers kept returning back to me and bringing in new customers with them, one of the best complements I got was â€Å"You never leave my hair too short you always cut it exactly how I want it† and many others. My communication skills were not always good. At first, I made many mistakes. I can still remember how I would always start without asking questions when I started doing hair at beauty school. If the client would ask for a haircut, I would just start cutting the hair or if the ask for highlights I would just start bleaching, because of my lack of communication skills, the end result was never what the client wanted. This caused those clients to be unsatisfied and unhappy with the services I provided for them. That is, when oneShow MoreRelatedValue of Diversity Paper1213 Words   |  5 PagesDiversity Paper Cultural Diversity SOC/315 Value of Diversity in the Workplace In companies or corporations the global landscape now reflects diversity in the employees found in the workplace. Employees come from different backgrounds, geographic or global areas, ethnic and cultural origins, and have unique skills and talents. Individuals must work together and merge skills and manage diversity effectively in the workplace. Our thoughts, actions, and very beliefs are shaped by our culture. TheseRead MoreEssay Geico Case Study1498 Words   |  6 PagesCase Study: Geico Assignment 1: Case Study GEICO HRM 533 Linda Matthews April 28, 2013 Dr. Jean Gordon Case Study : Geico 1 1. Determine which facets of the Geico total rewards program align with the five (5) top advantages of a total rewards program outlined in Chapter 2 of the textbook and discuss your reasoning. Geico offers a variety of benefits programs just to name a few would be: medical, dental and vision coverage. ThisRead MoreEffective Non Verbal Communication At The Workplace1469 Words   |  6 Pages EFFECTIVE NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN VERBAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN THE WORKPLACE ASSIGNMENT BY: MUHAMMAD ATIF STUDENT ID: 140326 â€Å"Communication is the all of the procedures by which one mind can affect another† It can be characterized as the key that joins different variables of an association. It decides the achievement or disappointment of an association. 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As likewise of my responsibility as a mentor is to help the mentoree’s need to overcome their obstacles which he/she circulate among their peers 2. I have discovered that I need to practice more of active listening on how the technique is to paraphrase our understanding of what the person being said by transposing it and putting it intoRead More4dep Essay example1255 Words   |  6 PagesDeveloping Yourself as an Effective Human Resources Practitioner 4DEP Foundation Mr Janis Tiesnieks 2016 Contents CIPD Profession Map 3 Behaviours 4 Bands 5 Role of HR 6 Effective communication 7 Communication methods 7 Effective service delivery 8 CIPD Profession Map The standards set out in the CIPD Profession Map, developed in collaboration with HR and Lamp;D professionals, senior business people, academics and their organisations across the world, aim to set theRead MoreCase Study : Softcorp International, Inc.1348 Words   |  6 Pages During the course of time, SoftCorp has grown from a computer aided engineering solutions company to a Talent Acquisition / IT solutions provider, SoftCorp offers its employees challenging, rewarding opportunities and outstanding work environment.[1] Duties and Responsibilities During by internship with SoftCorp I have been assigned a job with one of their client â€Å"Ameri Health Administrator† for fulfilling the below listed duties and responsibilities for the implementation of Business Intelligence/DataRead MoreENG/221 Course Syllabus2166 Words   |  9 Pagesï » ¿ Course Syllabus College of Information Systems Technology ENG/221 Version 5 Technical Writing Fundamentals Copyright  © 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course covers the fundamentals and best practices of using written communication in business and in the information technologies. Topics include strategies, techniques, and nuances for producing e-mails, memos, reports, proposals, project specifications, and user manuals, asRead MoreConflict Resolution Of The Workplace1585 Words   |  7 Pages Conflict Resolution Although many of us go great lengths to avoid it, sometimes it is just inevitable. People in the workplace setting will always have different ideas, values, and attitudes than others around them. A conflict can arouse in any given setting, and the affect it can have on those involved can either be negative or positive. Depending on the approach and strategies utilized during and after a conflict will determine the result of the conflict. Conflict helps people recognize legitimateRead MoreIT Professionals: The Skills Framework for the Information Age1276 Words   |  6 Pagesaxis is levels of responsibility. It is considered as an effective resource which provides advantage to business by providing all facilities of the management in corporate and educational departments. This system is used by: †¢ ICT Users †¢ Employers †¢ Educational institutions †¢ Governments. Characteristics of SFIA: †¢ Development of SFIA is not a practical exercise – but it seems to be a project that would produce thing useful in the workplace †¢ SFIA is accepted and general-purpose framework that covers

Slowly Moving Towards Legalizing Marijuana Essay - 3153 Words

For the past ninety years, marijuana has been an enemy to drug agencies, government officials, and presidential administrations. Smoke Signals, a book about the oppressive and beneficial history of marijuana, is written as an effective argument while highlighting the plant in many different social settings. Cannabis use can be traced back to the Neolithic Period (10,200-4500 BC). Since then, nearly every culture continued to use marijuana for personal reasons, causing information to surge throughout the world. Some cultivate marijuana for the stems and stalk that produce cordage and cloth, while others eat the marijuana seeds for the essential fatty acids and protein. The first reference to medical-marijuana†¦show more content†¦A Jamaican-centered, long-term marijuana use study concluded that no significant differences between ganja smokers and nonsmokers were present with basic skills and responses. Different presidential administrations rejected studies like these, that proved medical-marijuana potential, to protect the illusion that marijuana crippled America. American culture exploited marijuana for nearly every use. People who found relief in marijuana stood for their rights. Social gatherings like Hempfest promoted marijuana-law reform when thousands of people gathered and enjoyed themselves in the company of other marijuana users. In retaliation, the iron fist of different drug czars, presidents, and the authorities ruled anyone who had ties to marijuana. They enforced a zero-tolerance policy in America while other countries approached marijuana with a different strategy. Instead of moving towards prohibition, countries like the Netherlands, Canada, and Israel, worked towards decriminalization— the policy that removes the marijuana smoker from the criminal justice system. 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His grounds varies but is heavily based off pathos saying things such as legalizing drugs would make them available at corner stores and that â€Å"we would see an increase in drug-related accidents at work, on the highways and in the airways. (Bennett 549)†. His warrant is that he is implying that we live in a world where people don’tRead MoreThe Legalization of Marijuan Coul Impact Society2226 Words   |  9 PagesMarijuana Could Impact Society Throughout our history there has been an exhausting amount of controversy over legalizing marijuana. Thankfully, studies are beginning to show that over half of our country is in favor of legalizing marijuana and 78% are in favor of legalizing marijuana for medicinal uses (Nagourney Lyman, 2013). Those individuals whom are not for either side sometimes ask, â€Å"What are the side effects to using marijuana and what qualities does it have that can help with medicinalRead MoreA New Horizon On Cannabis For Texans1567 Words   |  7 PagesHorizon in Cannabis for Texans Marijuana has been a hot button topic for the past couple of years. It recently made headlines earlier in the state of Texas. On Monday, June 1st 2015 Governor Greg Abbott signed The Compassionate Use Act (senate bill 339) by Senator Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler). Sb 339 â€Å"†¦will allow individuals with intractable epilepsy to access cannabidiol (CBD oil) to reduce seizures† (State of Texas). What this bill stands for is the belief that the marijuana plant can produce some lifesavingRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized? Essay2099 Words   |  9 Pagesa catatonic state. Nothing could help her. But after five years her parents finally tried marijuana. Now Charlotte has less than one seizure a week and has become a normal child. What if her parents were too afraid to try it? Marijuana can help people and our country in many ways. So, Recreational marijuana should be legalized because it poses numerous benefits which outweigh the minor downsides. Marijuana is safer than alcohol. Alcohol is toxic to healthy cells and organs, a side effect that resultsRead MoreOlivia Batten. Mrs. Morrison-Robinson. Writing 421. 191344 Words   |  6 Pageslegal seems like it would be the worst possible thing the government could do in response to the fentanyl crisis. Adversary, it might be the most effective solution there is. There is a lot of misconception about drug legalization. Uncertainty towards this concept is usually because of stigma surrounding drug use or confusing legalization with decriminalization. Decriminalising an illegal drug means taking away penalties for possessing that drug but leaving its distribution in the hands of criminalsRead MoreEssay on The Legalization Drugs2187 Words   |  9 Pageslegalization of drugs would be a tolerant middle ground that recognizes the inevitability of drug use and strives to make it as safe as possible. Regulating the market for drugs and researching new psychoactives would lead to a safer drug experience. Legalizing would eliminate the need for an invasive and brutal police force and halt the slow decline of our civil rights and liberties. With the strain of drug related policing removed, serious crimes could be given the resources they deserve. Organized crimeRead MoreMass Incarceration Of Poor Black Male4177 Words   |  17 Pagesincreased more than 1000% since the drug war began. Further, the increase does not have any resemblance or correspondence to published research figures on patterns of drug use or sales. In other words, the supply and behavior remains stable or grows slowly, but the percentage of those incarcerated is exploding. In effect, the claim here is that in order to keep the expanded prison business booming, it became increasingly necessary to draw upon the available pool of drug offenders to increase prison

Management of financial resource and performance at Vodafone Free Essays

string(127) " stakeholder involvement are Voluntary involvement: Everyone involved should be committed to progress and full participation\." Introduction Being the largest mobile company of the world it is giving job opportunities to more than 65000 people.It is succeed to popularised its name as a new largest communication company of the world.Around 130 million people are being the costumers of this company. We will write a custom essay sample on Management of financial resource and performance at Vodafone or any similar topic only for you Order Now It does not see its business and service only but a best and effective communication too provide all over the world.It’s increasing its level of selling power to high status.Vodafone has made its aim to grow its revenue and improve its profit margin by adding value to its products and services i.e. earning more from each product sold and to be the leadingcompany in the communicationsmarket. Vodafone also has a commitment to Corporate Responsibility (CR). This is when a business tries to ensure its activities have a positive influence on the people and places where it works. Vodafone is planning to reduce the company’scarbonfootprint by encouraging therecycling and re-use of old phones. The ‘Vodafone live!’ service enables customers to use picture messaging and to download ring tones, colour games, images and information, through an icon-driven menu.This service will soon be further enhanced by picture messaging libraries, video clips and video telephony (seeing the person you’re calling) and improving download speeds. Another service is the Vodafone Mobile Connect Card, which enables customers to access their normal business applications on a laptop when out of the office. Such services add value to the product, and high profile effective promotion will help sell these services to existing and new customers. The head quarter of this company is in London.It operate more than 30 milllion subscribers by the year 2010and largest company is in United States also. As we go to the history of vodafone ,we find its progressive report since 1982,extending from Racal strategies Limited.The Racal got its name change as Racal telecommunication Group Limited in 1995 and in 1996 Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB?110 million.The name Vodafone comes from voice data fone, chosen by the company to â€Å"reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones†The name Vodafone comes from voice data fone chosen by the company to â€Å"reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones.†(Anderson,T.J.,2006). Types of communication system and Its Importance One-way communication involves a company distributing information via brochures, letters, or with an exchange of information and ideas among stakeholders and the company. Information is usually exchanged. The next type of communication is stakeholder engagement or stakeholder dialogue. The intent of stakeholder engagement is learning stakeholdersi issues and concerns. If well designed, dialogue leads to knowledge being gained by both the company and stakeholders. The company commits itself to considering stakeholder input in making its decisions with an exchange of information and ideas among stakeholders and the company. Information is usually exchanged The next type of communication is stakeholder engagement or stakeholder dialogue.The intent of stakeholder engagement is learning stakeholders issues and concerns. If well designed, dialogue leads to knowledge being gained by both the company and stakeholders.The company commits itself to considering stakeholder input in making its decisions. Vodafone operates a global Performance Dialogue process for every employee. The process ensures that employees can make a clear connection between their goals and the business objectives. Each individual’s performance is discussed with their manager and career development goals are set. 93% of managers completed the Performance Dialogue process in the 2007 calendar year and 83% of employees approved development goals with their manager. Finally, with participatory/interactive decision making, a company collaborates with stakeholders in making decisions. Shared decision making is not appropriate in all situations, but can be effective in helping a company design a plan that, when implemented, will be acceptable to its stakeholders. communication and stakeholderTo be a good corporate citizen, your company should be communicating with and involving its stakeholders to determine their issues concerning a particular facility. There are costs associated with conducting these activities; however, costs to the company can be even greater if stakeholders take action against the company (e.g., hurting the company’s image through a media campaign, holding up permits, suing the company). Being aware of issues and concerns and working to resolve them early before they turn into negative action is time and money well spent. On a positive note, ideas and suggestions from stakeholders can often be insightful and useful in improving a facilities planning and operation. In this light, stakeholders can be seen as consultants to a company. The basic principles of stakeholder involvement are Voluntary involvement: Everyone involved should be committed to progress and full participation. Openness, honesty, trust: Open and honest communication is a requirement for mutual trust. Inclusiveness: Strive to include all interested parties in some form of dialogue. Common information base: Participants should have access to the same information. Mutual learning: All parties, including host and stakeholders, should come to the discussion with a willingness to learn. Creative options: Have a diverse set of stakeholders as a catalyst for creative thinking. Collaboration in decision making: Build ownership to increase the likelihood of implementation, and future collaboration. Coordination of stakeholder feedback: Communicate how you will use stakeholder feedback. Even if consensus is not possible, it is important that stakeholders feel their concerns are heard. Communication and stakeholder involvement should be a continuous activity conducted at a facility level and then augmented during periods of change or crisis when major decisions are being considered. This guidebook describes the overall process, which can be tailored to fit the circumstances at your site n resources, history of community interaction, the role of the facility in the community, and decisions being contemplated.†This is a new venture for many if not most cement companies so don’t be discouraged if your communications plan is basic and lacks the involvement of stakeholders†(Barne J,1991).Theenvironmentalandsocialperformanceofcompaniesisincreasinglyunderscrutinyfrominternalstakeholders (e.g. employeesandstockholders) andexternalstakeholders (e.g. localcommunities, activists, regulators). Greaterscientific, economicandsocialknowledgeisfuelingstakehold ers demandsforincreasedinformation, clarity, andinvolvementinbusinessoutcomes. Role of stakeholder The basic principles of stakeholder involvement are Voluntary involvement: Everyone involved should be committed to progress and full participation. Openness, honesty, trust: Open and honest communication is a requirement for mutual trust. Inclusiveness: Strive to include all interested parties in some form of dialogue. Common information base: Participants should have access to the same information. Mutual learning: All parties, including host and stakeholders, should come to the discussionwith a willingness to learn. Creative options: Have a diverse set of stakeholders as a catalyst for creative thinking. Collaboration in decision making: Build ownership to increase the likelihood of implementation, and future collaboration. Coordination of stakeholder feedback: Communicate how you will use stakeholder feedback. Financial Analysis If we talk aabout financial seector of the company we get that It had amarketcapitalisation of approximately ?93 billion as of 9 March 2011 and it is making itself as the fourth largest company on the London Stock Exchange.Vodafone Group plc is providing its products in Europe, Africa, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and the United States. The company offers various handsets; voice and messaging services; data services comprising Internet, email, music, games, and television; and fixed services, including fixed voice and fixed broadband solutions. It also offers value added services, such as Vodafone Email Plus and Windows Mobile. It also offers value added services, such as Vodafone Email Plus and Windows Mobile Email, which provide enterprise customers with real time handheld access to email, calendar, and address book; Vodafone PC Backup and Restore that enable users to remotely store data automatically through their Internet connection.Training and development Consolidated statement of financial position 2010 ?m 2009 ?m Non-current assets Intangible assets74,258 74,938 Property, plant and equipment20,642 19,250 Investments in associates36,377 34,715 Other non-current assets11,489 10,767 142,766 139,670 Current assets14,219 13,029 Total assets156,985 152,699 Total equity shareholders’ funds90,381 86,162 Total non-controlling interests429 (1,385) Total equity90,810 84,777 Liabilities Borrowings Long-term28,632 31,749 Short-term11,163 9,624 Taxation liabilities Deferred tax liabilities7,377 6,642 Current taxation liabilities2,874 4,552 Other non-current liabilities1,550 1,584 Other current liabilities14,579 13,771 Total liabilities66,175 67,922 Total equity and liabilities156,985 152,699 Information Systems Vodafone Information Systems depends on service level agreements (SLAs).according to this system it provides srvice through central reporting system.and brings the different datas from differrent sources.and rpovides them all the time to the employees and costumers.For a long time, Vodafone Information Systems used a combination of two applications for reporting purposes, both of which ran on an IBM mainframe. Training and development Using SAS, Vodafone Information Systems’ employees are now able to bring together data from a wide range of sources with a few mouse clicks and to create sophisticated reports in a very short period of time. At the heart of the new system is SAS, which allows IT system managers to have a single point of control over all the IT processes. Measurement data from sources. The system also offers completely new ways of presenting the information. Employees and customers can access the reports via the company intranet or the Internet using a Web browser anywhere and at any time. As the SAS solution has been integrated into the V.E.C.T.O.R. reporting system developed by Vodafone Information Systems, the company can guarantee that employees and customers can only display the information that is relevant to their needs. Customers themselves are able to choose the level of detail in the reports and therefore receive only the necessary information that they need to be able to complete the ir tasks. The simple archiving process means that developments can be tracked over a longer period without any additional work being involved. IT service providers like Vodafone Information Systems depend on service level agreements (SLAs) as a measure of their success. In order to ensure that the agreed service level is provided at all times, the service provider needs a central reporting system, which brings together measurement data from a wide range of sources. The increasing heterogeneity of the IT environment – which includes a host, UNIX and Windows operating systems – makes central access to the relevant data essential. For a long time, Vodafone Information Systems used a combination of two applications for reporting purposes, both of which ran on an IBM mainframe. In spite of the capabilities of these applications, they weren’t scalable and were no longer able to keep pace with the most recent requirements.. Strategies Vodafone’s Partner Network strategy represents an increasingly significant development in the delivery of Vodafone’s mobile services and Og fjarskipti will be an ideal partner for the further development of mobile services. Vodafone is already established in many regions through its operator like Vodafone Sweden, as well as Partner Network Agreements with TDC in Denmark and Radiolinja in Finland, and this new agreement will increase one after another.Vodafone will continue to develop the Partner Network strategy, so the customers and partnerscustomers can use Vodafone services in an increasing number of countries†.Following today’s announcement, Vodafone global services, supported by its global brand communication, will be available in eight Partner Network countries: Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Kuwait and Slovenia, in addition to its subsidiary and associate markets.In course of making strategies it has forwarded the following po ints. A regionally focused Group: Europe, Africa and India Mobile data: accelerate exploitation of mobile data growth opportunity Enterprise: selective expansion in growth segments Emerging markets: drive penetration and data across attractive footprint Total Communications in Europe: continued capital efficient approach New services: growth opportunities including machine-to-machine and financial services Exploit scale to enhance efficiency and deliver cost benefits Generate free cash flow or liquidity from non-controlled assets building on the China Mobile and SoftBank disposals Rigorous application of capital discipline to enhance shareholder returns Market Strategies Product A product with many different features provides customers with opportunities to chat, play games, send and receive pictures, change ring tones, receive information about travel and sporting events, obtain billing information – and soon view video clips and send video messages. †¢ Vodafone live! provides on-the-move information services. †¢ Vodafone UK operates over 300 of its own stores. †¢ It also sells through independent retailers e.g. Carphone Warehouse. †¢ Customers are able to see and handle products they are considering buying. †¢ People are on hand to ensure customers’ needs are matched with the right product and to explain the different options available. Price †¢ Vodafone wants to make its services accessible to as many people as possible from the young, through apprentices and high powered business executives, to the more mature users. †¢ It offers various pricing structures to suit different customer groups. †¢ Monthly price plans are available as well as prepay options. Phone users can top up their phone on line. †¢ Vodafone UK gives NECTAR reward points for every ?1 spent on calls, text messages, picture messages and ring tones. Advertisement and offers †¢ Advertising on TV, on billboards, in magazines and in other media outlets reaches large audiences and spreads the brand image and the message very effectively. This is known as above the line promotion. †¢ Stores have special offers, promotions and point of sale posters to attract those inside the stores to buy. †¢ Vodafone’s stores, its products and its staff all project the brand image. †¢ Vodafone actively develops good public relations by sending press releases to national newspapers and magazines to explain new products and ideas. There is good balance, 70/30 consumer/enterprise, and good balance, more or less 70/30 mature/emerging.the new strategy is composed of five elements. The first one is clear focus of the companyis in three areas – Europe, Africa and India.The second will be growth; coming from data in different ways. The vodefone Groupl talks a lot about mobile data, and what internally it call ‘Supermobile’, but also enterprise and also some regional differences between Europe and emerging markets, and some investment in new services, which, in the future, will be appealing to the customers. Continuing to leverage on our scale advantage, it can really create a difference for our customers in terms of lower costs. It will deal with the assets below the line in an approach to generate liquidity or cash flow from all of our non-controlled assets, in terms of portfolio strategy. Then it continuing to apply capital discipline, financial objectives and commercial tests to all investm ents it makes, internal and external. Financial risk management The Group’s treasury function provides a centralised service to the Group for funding, foreign exchange, interest rate management and counterparty risk management.Treasury operations are conducted within a framework of policies and guidelines authorised and reviewed by the Board, most recently on 1 February 2011(Mc,Hee). A treasury risk committee comprising of the Group’s Chief Financial Officer, Group General Counsel and Company Secretary, Corporate Finance Director and Director of Financial Reporting meets at least annually to review treasury activities and its members receive management information relating to treasury activities on a quarterly basis. The Group accounting function, which does not report to the Group Corporate Finance Director, provides regular update reports of treasury activity to the Board. .Risk management purposes only that are transacted by specialist treasury personnel. The Group mitigates banking sector credit risk by the use of collateral sup port agreements. Financial risk management:Under the Group’s interest rate management policy, interest rates on monetary assets and liabilities denominated in euros, US dollars and sterling.are maintained on a floating rate basis except for periods up to six years where interest rate fixing has to be undertaken in accordance with treasury policy where assets and liabilities are denominated in other currencies interest ratesmay also be fixed. In addition, fixing is undertaken for longer periods when interest rates are statistically low. Foreign exchange management As Vodafone’s primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange.Its share price is quoted in sterling. Since the sterling share price represents the value of its future multi-currency cash flows, principally in euro, US dollars and sterling, the Group maintains the currency of debt and interest charges in proportion to its expected future principal multi-currency cash flows and has a policy to hedge external foreign exchange risks on transactions denominated in other currencies above certain de minimis levels. As the Group’s future cash flows are increasingly likely to be derived from emerging markets it is likely that more debt in emerging market currencies will be drawn. As such, at 31 March 2011 130% of net debt was denominated in currencies other than sterling (55% euro, 47% US dollar and 28% other) while 30% of net debt had been purchased forward in sterling in anticipation of sterling denominated shareholder returns via dividends and share buybacks. This allows eur o, US dollar and other debt to be serviced in proportion to expected future cash flows and therefore provides a partial hedge against income statement translation exposure, as interest costs will be denominated in foreign currencies. Yen debt is used as a hedge against the value of yen assets as the Group has minimal yen cash flows Liquidity risk Management At 31 March 2011 the Group had ˆ4.2 billion and US$4.2 billion syndicated committed indrawn bank facilities and US$15 billion and ?5 billion commercial paper programmes, supported by the ˆ4.2 billion and US$4.2 billion syndicated committed bank facilities, available to manage its liquidity. The Group uses commercial paper and bank facilities to manage short-term liquidity and manages long-term liquidity by raising funds in the capital markets. ˆ4.2 billion of the syndicated committed facility has a maturity date of 1 July 2015 and US$4.2 billion has a maturity of 9 March 2016 which may be extended by a further year if agreed by those banks who have participated in the facility. Both facilities have remained indrawn throughout the financial year and since year end and provide liquidity support. The Group manages liquidity risk on long-term borrowings by maintaining a varied maturity profile with a cap on the level of debt maturing in any one calendar year, therefore minim ising refinancing risk. Long-term borrowings mature between one and 26 years.Liquidity is reviewed daily on at least a 12 month rolling basis and stress tested on the assumption that all commercial paper outstanding matures and is not reissued. The Group maintains substantial cash and cash equivalents which at 31 March 2011 amounted to ?6,252 million (2010). Vodafone also produces proportionate customer number figures on a similar basis, e.g. if an operator in which it has a 30% stake has 10 million customers that equals 3 million proportionate Vodafone customers. This is a common practice in the mobile telecommunications industry. Year ended 31 MarchTurnover ?mProfit before tax ?mProfit for the year ?mBasiceps (pence)Proportionate customers (m) 201044,4728,6748,61816.44341.1 200941,0174,1893,0805.81302.6 200835,4789,0016,75612.56260 200731,104(2,383)(5,297)(8.94)206.4 2006*29,350(14,835)(21,821)(35.01)170.6 200534,0737,9516,5189.68154.8 200436,4929,0136,1128.70133.4 Conclusion Valuation plays a key role in many areas of finance – in corporate finance, in mergers and acquisitions and in portfolio management. The value of the company can be directly related to decisions that it makes – on which projects it takes, on how it finances them, and on its dividend policy. Understanding this relationship is the key to making value?increasing decisions and to sensible financial restructuring. In the focus of this thesis was the value of Vodafone Group, who is operating the biggest mobile network worldwide with presence in both emerging and mature markets. Drawing from the analyses of Vodafone and its environment, the major influencing risks, that are the most critical in terms of the future profitability and hence the value of the company, were found as following: 3G market take?up, fixed mobile line substitution and level of regulations. The equity value of Vodafone was calculated using the discounted cash flow scenario method (?87,954mln) (Domadaran,2008). Provided that the assumptions on which the forecasts were based and the probability distribution are correct, the Vodafone is currently under priced by almost 11%.The following actions could constitute the strategy that will maintain strong performance and deliver value to both customers and shareholders of Vodafone Group: cost reduction and revenue stimulation in mature markets, development of new products and services, extension to new emerging markets and selling unprofitable businesses. As a concluding remark, one has to keep in mind that although the discounted cash flow framework, along with other valuation models, is a quantitative tool, but the inputs leave plenty of space for subjective judgements. A mixture of financial theory, accounting methodology, industry knowledge and sound assumption was used to evaluate the equity of the company. As the underling assumptions change, the estimated value of the firm may change as well. References Andersen, T. J. (2006). â€Å" Global Derivatives A Strategic Risk Management Perspective†, Pearson Education, Harlow, England. Andersen, J. (2006). â€Å"Perspectives on Strategic Risk Management†, Copenhagen Business School Press N.P. Barney, J. (1991). â€Å"Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage†, (In Journal of Management, 1991, vol. 17, no. 1, pg. 99?120). Damodaran, A. (2002). â€Å" Investment valuation: Tools and Techniques forDetermining the Value of Any Asset†, John Wiley Sons, New York. Damodaran, A. (2008). â€Å" Strategic Risk Taking†, Wharton School Publishing,New Jersey. Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Whittington, R. (2005). â€Å" The Environment In Exploring Corporate Strategy†, Earson Education, pp. 64?87). McGee, J., Thomas, H., and Wilson, D. (2005). â€Å"Strategy Analysis Practice†, McGraw?Hill Maidenhead, UK Miller, K. D. (1992).†A framework for integrated risk management in international business†,( In: Journal of International Business Studies.vol. 23, no. 2, pg. 311?331) Wise, D. (1991). â€Å"Vodafone’s solo debut could boost share price†,The Guardian (Guardian Newspapers). Cane, A. (1996). â€Å"Companies and Finance: UK: Vodafone acquires Talkland in Pounds 60m deal†,Financial Times. p. 22. Reguly, E. (1996). â€Å"Vodafone pockets Peoples Phone†.The Times (Times Newspapers). â€Å"News Digest: Vodafone snaps up Astec†. Investors Chronicle: p. 55. How to cite Management of financial resource and performance at Vodafone, Essay examples

Knowledge Essay Summary Example For Students

Knowledge Essay Summary Throughout the ages, man has always used his idea of correct knowledge as a way of pushing himself higher, a way of reaching a new plateau of superiority. Whether or not this knowledge proves to be true is superficial. The only matter of any importance is that he believes he is correct. A well respected and possibly pompous mathematician may be proven incorrect by a student, yet were it a colleague that had shown him the error in his ways, he would have accepted the remark with quiet disdain, never openly accusing the said colleague of any falsities. But seeing as it is no more then a mere student, he may thus ridicule and disregard the observance, knowing that with his superiority of rank over the student, he may simply command him to silence. The use of knowledge, even false knowledge, is to better understand yourself and those around you. Yet for some, the use of knowledge is to simply push themselves higher above others, naming them inferior or deplorable. So why is it that the mighty may rule the weak in a world of intelligent sanctity? Why is it that those with the answers are in the end, the ones asking themselves if indeed, they are correct any longer, after the ridicule and derision received from a superior? Yet for the sake of argument, let us say that in the end, the knowledgeable overthrow the once superior denizens of ignorance, tear down their walls of false sublimity, and once and for all catapult these mindless drones to the furthest reaches of the known galaxy. So, for all the intelligence shown in past occasions, would these new superiors prove to be as ambiguous as once thought? Would they give credit where credit is deserved? To the weaker, to the let us not say less intelligent, but less noted. Or, with the sense of power that has not touched them, would they re-instate the tyrannical law once forged by their ancestors, so that they too, may pave the way for another dark age of unclear thought, passing back and forth through the murky fog of eternity.

Road Rage Aggression on the Road

Driving is an involving activity and people experience many negative emotions especially if they are experiencing a traffic jam or if other drivers are acting inconsiderately. This might result in road rage, a condition caused by annoyance and that often results in aggression on the road. Road rage increases the probability of a driver committing traffic offences or even risking the lives of other road users. Stricter laws should therefore be passed to discourage people from engaging in road rage.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Road Rage: Aggression on the Road specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Road rage causes aggressive driving which may result in fatal accidents. When a driver experiences road rage, he/she may engage in reckless driving in an effort to retaliate or frustrate the other driver. Some of these aggressive driving includes following other vehicles too closely and switching lanes at random and withou t indicating. Some drivers drive at excessive speeds and ignore stoplights because of road rage. Such behaviour increases the likelihood of accidents being caused by the driver who has road rage. Media reports reveal that the number of accidents caused by road rage is on the increase. This accidents are not only restricted to the drivers on the road. The lives of people not directly involved in the confrontation such as cyclists and pedestrians are also jeopardized by road rage. Road rage leads to distractions on the road as the driver focuses on activities such as verbal arguments with other drivers. In some instances of road rage, drivers engage each other in verbal insults or make rude hand gestures at each other. I have seen drivers stick their hands outside their windows as they engage other drivers in intense arguments. As they are doing this, their attention is not on the road. This is an important consideration since drivers are required to demonstrate high levels of alertne ss to the road and their surroundings at all times. This distraction caused by road rage increases the chances of causing an accident as the drivers focus less on the road. Road rage can cause physical fights between drivers with bad results. The high frustration experienced during road rage can cause drivers to physically attack each other. Because of the great anger felt, the physical violence can lead to severe consequences. For example, there are cases where the injuries inflicted on a driver lead to assault charges being made against the aggressive driver. A driver therefore risks having a criminal record because of damages inflicted because of road rage. In addition to the annoyance caused to other road users, road rage causes disturbance to businesses that are near the road. Road rage is often characterized by loud yelling by the drivers involved. Other drivers engage in unnecessary honking in an attempt to get the attention of the other drivers or to annoy them.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More I have encountered this disruption at my favourite cafe, which happens to be near a road. The noise caused because of road rage often spoils the atmosphere at the cafe. Road rage disrupts the activities of nearby businesses, which have to deal with all the noise being generated. Increases in the cases of road rage have made our roads more unsafe than they were in the past. This paper has argued that stricter laws should be put in place to help discourage this behaviour. To support this claim, a discussion of some of the negative causes of road rage has been made. Every safety-minded citizen should support strict legislation against road rage in order to make the roads safe for everyone. This essay on Road Rage: Aggression on the Road was written and submitted by user Sidney Frederick to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Economic Systems essays

Economic Systems essays In the world today there are primarily three types of economies and they are capitalism, socialism, and communism. The United States is an example of a capitalistic country, where Cuba is an example of a country adhering to Communism. These three economic types have scattered similarities as well as striking differences. Capitalism is a system of economics governed b the will of the people and the doctrine of free enterprise. Socialism is a system where the government owns the basic means of production and wages and also provides social services. Communism is the evolution of one class, common property holdings and holds no need for a working government. Capitalism and communism both emphasize the need for a fair and stable economy. However, with socialism and communism, the working class is most often sympathized with. Capitalism and socialism are similar because they are both looking out for the common interest of the people. The systems are also very different for example, Capitalism is an economic system where the government is confident in the decision-making skills of the individual where socialism relies on the government to override the economic decisions of the individual and provide control over the economy. Capitalism is encouraging of fair competition and the highs and lows of the free market and communism eliminates any competition and gives complete ownership to the government. Socialism places heavy emphasis on the necessity for government control of the economy whereas Marx envisioned a version of communism called for the evolution of one class system, common property, and no need for a government. In the power point presentation, capitalism is represented with a picture of George Washington, as well as skyscrapers this represents the US as a capitalistic country and industrialization is often linked to capitalism. The picture of people holding hands portrays that socialism aspires to achieve equ ...

Sexual Transmitted Infection Prevention in Adolescents Essay

Sexual Transmitted Infection Prevention in Adolescents - Essay Example These could include family planning clinics, sex workers and gynecologists. STIs are very commonly found amongst most women suffering from sexual assault. Little data on men has been found. STIs put men and women especially to considerable risk. There is a huge lack of awareness and dearth of information available to these people at large. Most young women are most concerned about pregnancy prevention than STI transmission. There is a lack of concern and negligicence towards the seriousness of this matter that makes it an all the more important issue to address. STIs can lead to cancer, organ damage, pregnancy issues and even death. Thus it is important for health agencies to look into it. The definition of adolescence has been subjected to intense debate and argument over the course of last couple of years. In the 1950s it was thought that adolescent should be best considered to be the period of transitioning other literature defines it in terms of the words â€Å"young† and â€Å"youth†. However, the term young adult was also introduced recently. The treatment of adolescence has varied in different parts of the world. It is different in the west and different in the east. For instance in India, many girls have pre-arranged marriages before they hit their first menstruation. As soon as they hit get their first periods, they are married off at ages as young as 16 years. This increases the probability of STI transmission in them. On the contrary, in the west, marriage does not materialize till really long. Girls there are subjected to consummation with different people at different phases of their life. There are no ethical obligations to restricting sex to one partner. Hence, all this makes it very difficult to come up with a universal STI prevention transmission program for health agencies. There are various barriers to prevention and treatment of STIs amongst adolescents. The biggest problem associated with STI control is considered to be the as ymptomatic nature of the infections caused by STI. The infections remain invisible in many young girls in particular till some severe sequels. In some settings the proportion of infections that are rated as asymptotic may even be even higher because many women would consider them to be â€Å"normal†. The only viable way of detecting asymptomatic infections is via the use of laboratory test. In some resource poor settings, this is impeded by the fact that the tests are not just difficult to perform they are even expensive. Even more difficult is obtaining tissue samples for these tests as they are less likely to be accepted without them. The adoption of these tests is perpetually impossible in most developing countries like India. This is because they are very expensive to conduct and obtain there. More than half the population, lives below the poverty belt which makes it impossible for them to afford such tests. Another important reason behind the failure of STI transmission prevention is the fact that most adolescents don’t consider it to be an issue important enough. It is only HIV which is considered to be important by these young adult and hence, this topic is at an all time low priority for them. Adolescent girls tend to be more cautious about preventing pregnancy and their menstrual problems then about their STI problems. For the boys on the other hand, sexual health concern outride reproductive health ones. A study was recently conducted in Zimbabwe. The study unveiled

Marketing Planning Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing Planning Report - Essay Example In some target audiences, Burger King has established brand insistence, or â€Å"consumer refusals of alternatives and extensive search for desired products† (Boone & Kurtz, 2007, p.383). Unlike some competition that only establishes brand preference or brand recognition, the unique production capabilities (flame-broiling) has managed to improve its loyalty ratios over many competitors. Additionally, Burger King achieves higher revenues through its franchisee programme that allows royalties to be paid whilst still using current advertising methodology. This is accomplished through its widespread geographic diversification and its presence in a multitude of international locations across the globe. By handing operational costs to the franchise owner, Burger King is able to earn revenues without considerable overhead costs. Unlike corporate owned, competitive fast food companies, Burger King maintains much lower operational costs and would normally be associated with corporate-o wned facilities. Burger King’s weaknesses include the influence of ever-changing labour laws that provide concentrated regulatory presence related to worker treatment, hours allowable, and diversity policies that differ internationally. This creates cost associated with maintaining new training programmes and also increases governmental control over how the business structures its labour pool in relation to retention and corporate organisational structure. Burger King also relies heavily on attempting to retain currently loyal customers rather than seeking new target audiences. This could be an effort to save on advertising costs by consolidating, however the business misses out on opportunities for gaining new market loyalty. Opportunities for the business include gaining higher revenues and more international brand visibility through its breakfast menu that grows more diverse over the years (marketingteacher.com, 2010). There are many threats to Burger King’s increas ed market share expectations, including troubled international economic conditions that lead to less disposable income for customers (such as the current rise in oil prices globally). This changes consumer sentiment related to pricing and their willingness to buy based on cost alone. Troubled economies represent unstable and uncertain operating environments that impact marketing strategy in a multitude of different ways. At the same time, consumer eating habits are changing due to international or domestic trends in healthier eating or acknowledgement of problems with obesity that directly impact an organisation where high fat content products are part of the core menu variety. Finally, consumers today are willing to defect to new brands based on many factors, with cost being one of these main trends. There is no guarantee in current market conditions, based on fluctuating buying behaviours in multiple consumer markets, that brand loyalty will be guaranteed over the long-term. There are virtually no political factors impacting business other than the aforementioned regulatory increases in labour protectionism. At the economic level, there are currently ongoing lawsuits related to franchisee unrest related to value pricing models that erode business owner profitability. Socially, there

Contrast leadership and power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Contrast leadership and power - Essay Example owerful person rewards or pays the cooperative followers, he/she encourages goal-directed behavior and when such rewards are withdrawn or threats and intimidations are issued, the unwanted behaviors are discouraged while the desirable ones are encouraged. (Nye, 2-3) The powerful are influential over their powerless dependants and the greater the follower’s dependency, the greater the power of the powerful. Dependency rises with the rise of the scarcity, importance and the non-substitutability of the resources that the powerful controls. In contrast, leadership is mutual and aims at everyone’s autonomy as opposed to dependency. (Prentice Hall inc, 2-5) Leadership can be defined as the ability to influence and motivate followers towards achievement of a common goal or purpose. Leaders are people of integrity, visions and charisma – they inspire and not coerce. Unlike power that operates from being in control over valued resources, leadership motivates without necessarily being in control of resources. Leadership is set on a common goal and requires the compatibility of the goal with the followers for common good. Power on the other hand is a means of achieving personal goals and requires the followers to be dependent thus to work in compliance with their leaders. Power is therefore egocentric while leadership is exercised to the benefit of all. A leader puts others first before self while the vice versa is true with the powerful (Prentice Hall inc, 5 and Ciulla, et al, 285) Leadership influences intrinsically as opposed to power that is used to attain lateral and extrinsic influence. Power uses rewards and punishment which makes followers feel that their behavior is externally demanded i.e. extrinsic motivation. When such rewards are absent, the powerful looses control and direction of behavior. This is contrary to leadership that transforms the feelings and thoughts persuasively and intrinsically devoid of rewards, promises or threats and intimidations.

Effects of Music on Plant Growth

Effects of Music on Plant Growth Miguel Cintrà ³n Ryan Cabral Humberto Michel The objective of this experiment is to determine if the different types of music affect the growth of the Euphorbia Miliiplant. If we put three Euphorbia Milii under the same conditions, with three different types of music, then the three plants will grow exactly the same, because we speculate that music does not have any effect on plant growth. We predicted that the three plants will grow to be exactly the same. We might have different results from what we expected as: one plant will grow larger than the other 2, because of its type of music; one plant will grow smaller than the other 2, because of its type of music, etc. Depend of the results this experiment will have an importance, because people will be able to make grow larger or smaller their plants. This is a benefit when it comes to control the growth of your plant. Farmer Chris Beardshaw claims that booming Heavy Metal band Black Sabbath has thoroughly increased the disease resistance of the plants in his greenhouse, though making them shorter. This could mean that music could be used as a method to make crops grow more efficiently. Euphorbia Miliiis a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaciae, native to Madagascar. Theoretical Framework The scientist of (all science fair projecs.com) they put in there hypothesis that the classic music will help with the growth. Of the plants, at the end, the hypothesis holds true and they observed and conclude that music is able to speed up seed germination and enhance plant growth. Although there may not be an available scientific explanation as to why music is able to enhance plant growth, the results are there for us to take advantage of. Music can be used in plant nurseries to speed-up seed germination and help us grow healthier plants. The scientist of USCB SCIENCE LINE, they observed and conclude that music affects plant growth has been the subject of many, many science fair projects. It seems as though it is uncertain whether music really does have an effect. Sound is a wave traveling through air and it may be possible that changes in air pressure may affect plant growth but also they planted that was difficult to test this because there a lot of variables that need to be controlled i.e. soil composition, water, light, etc. The scientist Dr. Singh (1962) published that when you switch on your radio, the sound wave will create vibration that will then cause your eardrum to vibrate. This pressure energy will be converted to electrical energy for the brain to translate into what you understand it as musical sounds. Dr. Will Warner (2014) published that if the frequency of sound increased, then the growth of plants will increase. He conclude that his hypothesis was incorrect â€Å"the frequency of the sound was increased, and the classical music group grew the shortest†. A scientist that published his report (answers.com) said that plants are not intelligent. In fact, they dont have a central nervous system. Music can only affect you if you understand it, and plants cant understand anything and plants have no auditory organs. They cant hear any more than you could hear through your skin if you had no ears. A scientist of (kidslovekits.com) find out thatwe think that the classical music will help the plant growth and that the rock music will hinder its growth since studies have showed that classical music even concentrates the human brain and is good for you. After one week of experimenting, the following were the results. The one that was in the best condition was the plant that was in the room with classical music. The second best plant was the one in the room with no music and the one that didnt do so good was the one in the room with rock music. DorothyRetallack(1973) penned down her research. For her laboratory experiment in her studies for the degree in music she chose to study the effects of music in plants. After her researchRetallackdiscerned that the genre of music did not have anything to do with the response; it was the kind of instruments used and their resonance that probably made the difference. Her book says that loud frequencies of music played havoc with the health of the plants, resulting in a very slow and stunted growth; even death in some cases. Dr. Matthew DavidFleischacker(2012) hetested the biological effect music would have on plants. The link above shows what was done in the experiment, but basically what they found was a direct relationship between the sound vibrations and the growth of the plant. Joel Sternheimer(1991) studied and investigated the vibrational frequencies of amino acids. Ribosomes plays an important role in the creation of proteins from a variety of twenty amino acids depending on the need of the cell and its organisms. He also conclude When the frequencies are recognized, each of these notes can then be recorded into a sequence, or melody. Sternheiner successfully replicated the recorded melodies for the selected proteins. When these melodies were played, he noticed that it increased the manifestation of the corresponding protein and accelerated the growth of the plant. Sternheiner affirms that tomatoes grew two and a half times larger when his melodies were play. A South Korean scientist Mi-JeongJeong(2007) would play Beethovens Moonlight Sonata to rice plants and he conclude that due to exposure to music, the chemical changes that took place within the plant, could be studied and harnessed in order to throw better light and increase the blossoms of other crops, too. Dr. Don Robertson (1973) he saw thatthe plants showed no reaction at all to country and western music, similarly to those in silent chambers. However, the plants liked the jazz that she played them. He tried an experiment using rock in one chamber, and modern classical music of negative composers  Arnold Schà ¶nberg  and Anton Webern in another. These two scientists Creath and Schwartz (2004) have reported significant effects of music on the germination of seeds when compared to untreated control plants. Similarly, there also have been other reports on the enhancement of physiological conditions of the plants because of exposure to sound and music. It can be concluded that plants enjoy music and they have better effect when exposed to the appropriate style. Dr. Lee. Patrick (2009) he published Silence grew the best and healthiest followed by spoken word (Harry Potter). Classical music (Vivaldi concertos) ended up just under spoken word. Bringing up the rear was a very small and unhealthy plant that was listening to heavy metal and (harsh) world music (Mudvayne and Rammstein). He also concludes, â€Å"From my twenty days of information gathering, I have drawn the conclusion that all music/spoken word affect plant growth negatively. Some plants were affected more negatively than others were. Therefore, I can just repeat an old saying, Silence is golden.† Scientists of (omgfacts.com) published that, differentkinds caused different effects. Plants responded best to classical and Indian devotional music. In a controlled environment, plants exposed to these kinds of music had lush and abundant growth and good root development.They observedplants that listened to rock did poorly, showing signs that they were in the dying stage. Plants exposed solely to white noise died quickly. Scientists of (The handy science book.com) reported thatplants responded best to Indian classical and devotional music. In a controlled environment, plants exposed to these kinds of music had lush and abundant growth and good root development. Exposure to country music or silence brought about no abnormal growth reaction, while jazz produced growth that is more abundant. With rock music, plants did poorly. Their roots were scrawny and sparse and they seemed to be in a dying stage.Plants exposed solely to white noise died quickly. Scientists and researchers have long studied the effects of music on plant growth. Chronicling how music, from hard rock and boogie-woogie to the most refined classical pieces, may or may not stimulate plants to grow fascinates both the most-educated botanist and youngest science fair participant in elementary school. Whether or not classical music has any effect on urging or retarding plant growth is a hot topic. Also most scientist said thatwhile most mainstream scientists and botanists believe that no irrefutable evidence exists to prove whether classical or any other music stimulates plant growth, some researchers entertain the notion that sound waves may agitate the air around planets just enough to stimulate plant growth. In a question-and-answer section of the Science Centre Singapores Website, one researcher quoted a United Kingdom biologist who suggested that a fan running in place of a loudspeaker blaring music would probably generate the same agitating effect. Some researchers believe that the frequencies of music played to plants need to be kept at or near 5000 Hz in order for it to be beneficial to plant growth or, more important, larger fruit size and more vibrant and fragrant flowers. Also Russian researchers conducted experiments on onion plant roots that received consistent exposure to classical music. The music, composed by classical greats such as Mussorgsky, Chopin, Mozart, Wagner and Schubert, was chosen for its complex, rhythmic accents. The onion listened to the selected classical music six hours a day for 10 days. After 10 days, the onion roots were measured and examined at the cellular level. The scientists in charge of the experiment determined that the plants responded favorably to classical music by growing longer, roots that are more vigorous. Plants that listened to music with lyrics grew even longer roots. A students from the Marshall middle school published thatthe plant that had to listen to music did in fact grow much, more than the plant that did not have to listen to music. The plant that had to listen to music grow about 8cm and the plant that did not listen to music grow 5.5cm which is about 3.5cm less than the plant that had to listen to music and this experiment in fact support our hypothesis. These scientist (NuranEkici,FeruzanDane, LeylaMamedova,IsinMetinand MuradHuseyinov) reported thatstudy effects of strong, complex, rhythmic accent classical Music withsekundaandKvartaintervals. The frequently reprised and opus with rhythmic dynamically changing lyrics which Contain more EXTENSIVEKvintaoktavasepta intervals on mitotic index and root growth were Investigated in onion root tip During germination cells . For This aim, samples music from Wagner, Mozart, Mussorgsky Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Schubert Were Chosen. We found correlation between root elongation and Mitotic Index. Both kinds of music have positive effects on root growth and mitotic divisions in onion root tip cells but rhythmic dynamically changing lyrics affected much better. In This study, light microscopy techniques were used but ultra-structure of root tip cells will be studied with electron microscope in the following study. A scientist from Australia has reported thatevery plant has a mouth, in fact more than one mouth. These mouths are called stomata’s and over a year ago at the University of California in San Diego, United States, scientists discovered a single mechanism that controls plants stomata. There are two cells that make up the stomata and these two cells are connected to the resonant frequency of calcium, when the cells come in close contact with this frequency of calcium they close. However, what these scientists found was if the frequency were change slightly the plants stomata would open again after an hour even if the presence of calcium were still strong. This proved that exposures to high tones, music and bird songs stimulated the plant to vibrate and keep their stomata are open to increase the exchange of gases, therefore increasing growth because plants absorb fertilizer via their stomata. In addition, heincluded whatDorothyRetallackdo, that was held one of the first and most famous experiments performed on the effect of music on plants. Her experiment found that plants grew better under the influence of classical music compared to rock and roll and when jazz music was played some plants would lean towards the speaker and others would lean away. She found these findings whilst she studied her degree in music. She later went onto pen that it was not perhaps the type of music but the instruments played. She also stated that loud frequencies of music had negative effects on plants where the plant sometimes even died. A scientist ofmallstuffs.composted thatwhen the plants were beam with acid rock music, all the plants leaned away from the direction of music. When Mrs.Rattallackrotated the pots 180 degrees, all the plants leaned away in the opposite direction. Plants hate i.e. acid rock music. When the level of rock in the music was reduce, the movement of plants leaning also reduced. For EX : when Spanish tune , La Paloma was played , the leaning was only 10 degree from the vertical, very less than the 60 + degree of rock music . Plants fiddling with music beamed 15 degrees Leaned Towards the source of music. These experiments were done using continuously 25+ days for eighteen plants per chamber. All varieties of plants like squash, seed, flowers, leafy vegetables etc. Methods The materialswe used in this experimentare:ThreelabeledEuphorbiaMiliispecimens, a onehourWaltzplaylist, aonehourReggaetonplaylist,a one hourElectronicaplaylist,a journal fordocumenting, gardening tools,rulers (cm, inch,) to measure the plants, a camera, to take pictures of the experiments stages.To start we will take all threeEuphorbiaMiliispecimens (each already labeled according to their music type) and keep them in a controlled environment out in the sunlight. All plants will be given the same amount ofcare and water, and every day for one hour they will be each put to listen to their respective musicfor one hour, we already have playlists set up for this.Every change will be documented with rulersand cameras. Wewill write down all size and color changes as well as take pictures for demonstration, This process will take from the start of the experiment to approximately two or threeweeks before the Science Fair. References All Science Fair Projects http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/print_project_1301_143?print=1 UCSB Science Line http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1495 Hub Pages http://hubpages.com/hub/the-effect-of-music-on-plant-growth Google Documents https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1mxwiSK_4LVr9X4apl7T5tqflmXo5fEg8UpKPGsvssEY/embed?hl=ensize=s#slide=id.p13 Answers.com http://www.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_effects_of_music_on_plants Kids Love Kits http://www.kidslovekits.com/projects/plantmusic/index.html Ehow http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4596442_does-music-affect-plant-growth.html Info.com http://topics.info.com/How-do-different-kinds-of-music-affect-plant-growth_2902 Buzzle.com http://www.buzzle.com/articles/does-music-affect-plant-growth.html The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/want-bigger-blooms-blast-your-plants-with-black-sabbath-and-avoid-playing-cliff-richard-8579013.html SiOWfa12 http://www.personal.psu.edu/afr3/blogs/siowfa12/2012/10/music-can-help-your-plants-growseriously.html Dovesong.com http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/plant_experiments.asp California State Science Fair 2005 https://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2005/Projects/J1631.pdf Omg Facts http://www.omgfacts.com/lists/15202/Music-affects-plant-growth-and-now-we-may-know-why-Not-all-music-has-the-same-effect-though?%2Fl%2F15202= Deerfield Patch http://patch.com/illinois/deerfield/bphow-do-different-kinds-of-music-affect-plant-growth#.VCYEM_l5MnM Wikipedia (2014) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_milii Gardenguides.com http://www.gardenguides.com/116597-classical-music-its-effects-plants.html Plantingscience.com http://www.plantingscience.org/index.php?module=pagesetterfunc=viewpubtid=2pid=2829 Scialert.net http://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=ajps.2007.369.373 Ecocitizen Australia http://www.ecocitizenaustralia.com.au/affect-of-music-on-plants/ Mallstuffs.com http://www.mallstuffs.com/Blogs/BlogDetails.aspx?BlogId=393BlogType=SpiritualTopic=How%20music%20effects%20plant%20growth

Romeo and Juliet - Friar Laurence Essay -- English Literature Essays

Romeo and Juliet - Friar Laurence To what extent is Friar Laurence responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? The Friar is answerable for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, but only to some degree. Often, because of his involvement in the lives of the lovers, Friar Laurence can be seen as more responsible for their deaths than he actually is, although in the last scene the Friar is partially responsible for the death of Juliet. However his responsibility is mild compared to the accountability of other influences in the lovers’ lives, including friends, parents and the idea of fate or fortune. Even Romeo and Juliet themselves can be blamed to some extent for the tragedy. Although it often appears that the Friar is responsible for events leading to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, in reality it is usually other influences that are accountable. For instance, the Friar’s plan (giving Juliet the sleeping potion to evade the wedding to Paris, then spiriting her to Mantua until Romeo could return to Verona) was not flawed in itself. Unfortunately however, Balthazar, seeing Juliet’s funeral, hastened to tell Romeo that he â€Å"saw her laid low in her kindred’s vault,† (5, 1, 20). It was this information that made him, and later Juliet, commit suicide. Again, while marrying Romeo and Juliet may seem like an irresponsible action, it did not contribute to the lovers’ deaths. Their first meeting, based on chance, and their separation, as a result of Romeo’s banishment, played a...

Will American Hegemony Produce a Better World for Everybody?

Hegemony is defined as leadership, predominance, especially of one society over another. Encarta dictionary defines it as Control or dominating influence by one person or group especially over society or one nation over others. Referring to America, Stanly D. Brunn pointed out â€Å"the world’s single remaining superpower is the accountable hegemon† (p. 36). Every one would agree that the United States maintains its status as the only remaining superpower in the world though perhaps economically Japan and the rest of the G7 member countries are at par with the US.However many would disagree if one would say, ‘the U. S. remains the world’s police,’ and much more if one would add â€Å"a good policeman indeed. † Thus the question ‘Well American Hegemony Produce a better World for Everybody poses an important analysis of the role of the United States in the global community. But in the realist perspective, they see that the American attitud es towards international order is unstable not because of any special malign characteristic but because of the inherent insecurity that unequal power confers on weaker states.Michael Cox, Timothy Dunne, and Ken Booth pointed out their argument, â€Å"In anarchic orders, weaker states are threatened by extreme concentrations of power and will seek protection in counter-hegemonic groupings† (p. 193). But this has been debated issue as some contends that the American unipolarity is a highly durable political order. Cox, Dunne, and Booth argued that the American order is built on power.They point out â€Å"the extended system of American-led security protection in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, is an essential element of this order and it can only be sustained by dominant military capabilities, which in turn depends on continuing American economic and technological strength† (p. 193). Realism like any other ism such as naturalism and liberalism is a philosophical posit ion, therefore cannot be subjected to the test of falsifibility or cannot be proved or disproved. Benjamin Frankel point out that realism viewed peace as the result of power equilibrium than a cessation of conflicting ambition (p.6). They regard society as basically conflictive and the struggle for power among rival groups is a fundamental condition of human existence (Frankel, p. 6) Frankel cited that there is a differing position within realism. He noted that realist believed that human beings were driven by lust for power, while the rest including him, regarded power as essentially instrumental to and necessary for the achievement of other goals such as security and even liberal ideals (Frankel, p. 6). The American Hegemony American hegemony has been interpreted in some ways.Demetrios Caraley quoting the words of The Economist stated, â€Å"The united states bestrides the globe like a colossus. It dominates business, commerce, and communications; its economy is the world’ s most successful, its military might second to none† (p. 105). Caraley also cited French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine arguing that the United States had gone beyond its superpower status of the twentieth. He said â€Å"U. S. supremacy today extends to the economy, currency, military areas, lifestyle, language and the products of mass culture that inundate the world, forming thought and fascinating even the enemies of the United States† (Frankel, p.105). The American hegemony was also seen in the context of globalization. Caraley noted the statements of two American triumphalists stating, â€Å"Today’s international system is built not around a balance of power but around American hegemony† (p. 105). Globalization is seen simply a disguise for American imperialism. American hegemony has been described as â€Å"hyper power† and is not comparable, in terms of power and influence, to any thing known in modern history. G. John Ikenberry point out tha t hegemony is not just material power capabilities, and hegemonic order cannot be assured simply by a preponderance of such capabilities.He emphasized that a â€Å"leader needs followers and acquiescence of these followers is only achieved if the leader is seen as legitimate† (Ikenberry, p. 18) Quoting Michael Mastanduno, Ikenberry pointed out â€Å"Mastanduno argues that the United States has succeeded in establishing at least a partial hegemonic in East Asia† (Ikenberry, p. 18). The Realist view of Hegemony Realist held that only economically and militarily powerful nation-states qualifies as a hegemon since the use of power or economic sanctions against non-cooperating parties, is regarded as part of the game.Garrit Stratmann points out that this view hold that â€Å"a hegemon has to exercise hegemony over subordinated countries within its sphere of influence† (p. 37). In other words, though hegemony still reflects the preeminent position of a hegemonic actor , but does not necessarily imply dominance rather it is referred to as leadership. Thus, according to Stratmann in the realist view of hegemony, the focus is on the hegemon’s role â€Å"in mitigating collective action problems through the provisions of leadership over other donors and the creation of positive incentives to cooperate, e.g. by assuming a larger share of the costs to set up and maintain a cooperative infrastructure† (37). The realist argues that hegemony of one state provides a benefit for all by providing collective goods to all. Realist maintains that domination is always associated with coercion, state power, and indeed force, and hegemony remains consistently identified with equilibrium, persuasion, consolidation, and consent. Stuart Croft and Phil Williams cited Antonio Gramsci’s definition of hegemony whichâ€Å"stresses the explanatory importance of ideas – that this voluntary submission by one party to another is predicated on the b elief, right or wrong, that all parties will benefit from the interaction between the weak and the strong, even though it is important to emphasize that they might not recognize this act as submissive, nor may they recognize that the outcome might indeed be a hegemonic relationship† (68). Will the American Hegemony Produce a Better World in Realist Perspective? There are many factors that lead to a yes answer to the question above.It has been partly discussed above that the United State’s hegemony has been qualified, as the U. S. has succeeded in establishing partial hegemonic in East Asia. Further more, based on the definition and explanation of what hegemony is and the role of the hegemony in the international community of nation, it appears that indeed the American hegemony meets the requirement to produce a better world for everybody. The biggest threat to humanity to be able live a better life in a better world was the threat of communism prior to the collapsed of the Soviet Union.But with fall of Communism, it is now the evil of terrorism that brought real danger and fear worldwide. The political and social condition of life is no longer threatened by oppression but by the evil of terrorism, which only America can control. Michael Byers and Georg Nolte Noted that the concept of a â€Å"community by superpower is very popular in US international relations theory† (64) which promotes relations rather than dominion. In the realist view, state values of traditional international law prevail over community values such as human rights or sustainable development.Chrystalla A. Ellina noted that the â€Å"realist view of states as autonomous entities defined by geographical boundaries and distinctly separating domestic and foreign policy is incongruent with supra national policy† Realist argues that order is a result of the concentration of material power capabilities in a single state, which uses its commanding position to create and m aintain order. In a sense, realist’s view of hegemony is somewhat apprehensive as they tend to be suspicious of the real intention of the hegemonic nation. Paul J.D’Anieri asserts that Realist contends, â€Å"Great powers pursue hegemony in order to create a world order to favorable to themselves, and often exploitative to others† (p. 218) Jonathan Joseph point out that in the realist View, hegemony can only operate under conditions of social and material causality. Joseph cited â€Å"It is necessary to examine the social whole and its different structures and mechanisms, each of which has its own dynamics† (p. 126). However they admit that only militarily and economically strong nation is capable of being a hegemon.Since the only remaining superpower militarily and economically is the United States, it follows that American hegemony is legitimate and is capable to produce a better world for every body to live. The American use of power in the war against Iraq and against the Taliban forces maybe viewed as an attempt of global domination, but it is quite clear that threat of terrorism has been the main object the war. The world will never be safe with the terrorist around. The war on terror, which the US initiated, has put the world in a better and safer condition.Further more the benefit of globalization, democracy, and continues advancement of technology being carried out by the United States continues to make life easier. What the realist wanted to see actually in the American hegemony is that it should be able to provide benefit for weaker nations by providing collective goods to all. The US assistance in rebuilding European economies during the cold war era and its commitment for peace in the Middle East proves that the United States is working towards improving the world’s political and social condition.On the other hand, the problem that could be pointed out in the American hegemony is the concepts of democracy, which is associated with liberalization. It has been viewed that the American export of democracy and economic liberalization is imperialism, Americanizing its subject nations. Nevertheless, American democracies placed more values to human lives and give more protection and respect both for life and the basic rights of the individual.Realist maybe right that the American unipolar status may not last long but it may not be based on the dominant view that it is unstable and cannot but in time produce competition for the mantle of hegemon. John A. Agnew, Stuart Cordbridge admits that â€Å"there are a number of candidates for international ‘primacy’ available to replace the United States as Number One unless it acts decisively to prevent this† (130). Realist is not at all against hegemony or the American hegemony but just believe that society is basically conflictive.It means that they also recognize American hegemony as no one can dispute that the US is the only remainin g superpower. The realist assertion that hegemony means equilibrium or the balance of power does not certainly mean equal benefit or equal strength. They perhaps simply mean equal opportunity or equal protection, which is guaranteed in the American democracy. Andreas Hasenclever, Peter Mayer, and Volker Rittberger stated, â€Å"Realist theories of regimes emphasize relative power capabilities as a central explanatory variable and stress states sensitivity to distributional aspects of cooperation and regimes† (84).Hasenclever , Mayer, and Rittberger emphasized the realist teaches that the states are the most important actors on the world scene which act out of self -interest in an anarchical environment, without needing to renounce the liberal insights that state are able to realize common interests through cooperation and use international institutions to this ends† (83) Regardless of this statement, T. V. Paul James J. Wirtz, and Michael Fortmann pointed out that †Å"all realism agree on several fundamental assumptions about the nature of international politics† (104) It means that realist recognized some action by the state as a legitimate.Paul, Wirtz, and Fortmann noted that realist also believes that international politics are state centric, because politics are about relations between organized social groups and states are the primary organized groups in the modern world. Therefore the move to rid the world of international terrorist maybe state centric as it is triggered by the 7/11 terrorist attacked but it can also be in the realm of international politics as it was later joined by many other countries in an effort to subdue the international terrorist. Furthermore, based on the realist doctrines above, the U. S.led crusade against systematic mass extinction of people under a tyrannical rule that led to war against Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein can still be viewed as part of the international politics, which aim to pro duce a better world for everybody to live. With all the effort of the United States to bring economic rehabilitation in Europe under the Truman Doctrine, the effort to bring peace in the Middle East by trying to mediate in Palestinian conflict, and the US effort to rid the world of the threat of terrorism; I can definitely say the American hegemony was able to produce a better world for everybody.Though the realist view seems to run counter on the concept of hegemony yet there are some areas that realist agrees to the hegemonic ideas. It is in this agreement therefore that the discussion in this paper was based. Realism maybe extreme in their doctrine about hegemony, power, and the community but they provided a political mirror by which the hegemonic states can be judge whether their actions are still within incongruent with hegemony. Work Cited Agnew, John and Corbridge. Mastering Space: Hegemony, Territory and International Political Economy.London: Routledge, 1995. Brunn, Stanley D. 11 September and Its Aftermath: The Geopolitics of Terror. London: Routledge, 2004 Byers, Michael and Nolte, Georg. United States Hegemony and the Foundations of International Law. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Caraley, Demetrios. American Hegemony: Preventive War, Iraq, and Imposing Democracy. New York: Academy of Political Science, 2004. Cox, Michael, et. al. Empires, Systems and States: Great Transformations in International Politics.UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Croft, Stuart and Williams, Phil. European Security Without the Soviet Union. Great Britain: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. , 1992. D’Anieri, Paul J. Economic Interdependence in Ukrainian – Russian Relations. New York: State University of New York Press, 1999. Ellina, Chystalla. Promoting Women’s Rights:The Politics of Gender in the European Union. London: Routledge, 2003 Frankel, Benjamin. Realism: Restatement and Renewal. Great Britain: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. , 1996. Hasenclever, Andres, et.al. Theoris of International Regimes. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Ikenberry, John. American Unrivaled: The Future of the Balance of Power. USA: Cornell University Press, 2002. Joseph, Jonathan. Hegemony a Realist Analysis. London: Routledge, 2003. Paul, T. V. , et. al. Balance of Power: Theory and Practice in the 21st Century. California, USA: Stanford University Press, 2004. Stratmann, Gerrit. Donor Coordination of Economic Assistance to Eastern Europe. London: Transaction Publishers, 2000.

The sweat shop debate

The sweat shop debate The sweat shop debate The case study for this paper is about the sweat shops which have been established across the world for manufacture of various goods (Hill, C. 2009). Nike is a global producer of sports apparels and has had many establishments which are run by subcontracted companies in various parts of the world. The concept of sweat shop emerged from claims that such companies exploit their workers through long working hours and low wages. There have even been cases of child labor in some of these sweat shops which have attracted the attention of many human rights groups. There have even been lawsuits which have been presented urging Nike to take responsibility of such cases and ensure that their products are manufactured in environments which uphold human rights. Much as Nike has claimed that it has no control over the working conditions of individual establishments, many options have been floated including boycott of its products. There are legal, cultural and ethical challenges which have been presented by the Nike sweat shop debate. Outsourcing the manufacturing unit was the source of contention since much of these foreign countries subjected their workers to very inhuman conditions. Even though the initial intentions were to cut production costs, it ended up in many legal tussles, some of which continue up to date. Besides the legal issues, there were also the ethical concerns that Nike ad taken advantage of poor countries to put up factories and mistreat the workers (Hill, C. 2009). Nike was at the time making billions of dollars from sales of products produced in such conditions. The problem in such countries was that Nike had allocated them quotas to be produced within given time frames some of which meant that the people really had to be overworked to attain them (Hill, C. 2009). The fact that Nike was providing employment opportunities to people who would otherwise be jobless did not make matters any less. A case in point was for Vietnam factory workers who were being paid $1.60 a day; way below the average daily expenditure of about $3. There was another ethical issue of workers being subjected to hazardous working conditions. According to Hill, a report that found workers with skin or breathing problems had not been transferred to departments free of chemicals and that more than half the workers who dealt with dangerous chemicals did not wear protective masks or gloves (Hill, C. 2009). When the company was subjecting the workers to all this, it was making super normal profits due to cheap cost of production. There were also cultural issues whereby child labor was being practiced at very low wages, and very long working hours. There was a case of a Korean factory whereby workers as young as 13 earning as little at 10 cents an hour toiled up to 17 hours daily in enforced silence (Hill, C. 2009). Many governments hardly intervened in these cases due to the fact they are operating in a liberalized work environment and employment was offered on a willing employee/employers contract. It also emerged that not many government agencies were aware of these atrocities were it not for human rights bodies which came out in the open and petitioned the company. Much of the countries whereby this exploitation was going on needed the employment for the majority unemployed populations and that is the reason they have done quite little about it. Global managers have been faced with this challenge in trying to justify their operations and at times absolving themselves from blame. Nike has tried to redeem its tainted image from such accusations and the working environments of its overseas factories have considerably improved.

Biography of Attila the Hun

Biography of Attila the Hun Attila the Hun was the fierce 5th-century leader of the nomadic, barbarian group known as the Huns, who struck fear in the hearts of the Romans as he plundered everything in his path, invaded the Eastern Empire and then crossed the Rhine into Gaul. Occupation:  RulerDates:  We dont know when Attila was born. It could have been around 406 A.D. He ruled from about 433 until his death in 453. Offices and Titles Attila was the king of the Scythian hordes known as the Huns, who frightened those in their paths even with their appearance. For devastating much of Europe - mostly while on horseback shooting javelins, composite bows and arrows, Attila the Hun is also known as the Scourge of God. Jordanes says the following about Attila: His army is said to have numbered five hundred thousand men. He was a man born into the world to shake the nations, the scourge of all lands, who in some way terrified all mankind by the dreadful rumors noised abroad concerning him. He was haughty in his walk, rolling his eyes hither and thither, so that the power of his proud spirit appeared in the movement of his body.The Origin and Deeds of the Goths Military Attila successfully led his forces to invade the Eastern Roman Empire, whose capital was in Constantinople, in 441. In 451, on the Plains of Chà ¢lons (also known as the Catalaunian Plains), which was located in Gaul (modern France), although the exact location is disputed, Attila suffered a setback. Attila was ranged against the Romans and the Germanic Visigoths who were settled in Gaul. This didnt stop him, though; he made progress and was on the verge of sacking Rome when, in 452, Pope Leo I [d. 461]) dissuaded Attila from proceeding. Death The death of Attila was the following year, on his wedding night in 453, supposedly of a nosebleed. There are other explanations, including an assassination plot. With Attilas death, the Huns fade from prominence as a foe of the Romans. Sources We know about Attila through Priscus (5th century), a Roman diplomat and historian, and Jordanes, a 6th-century Gothic historian, and author of the Getica. Biography of Attila the Hun Attila the Hun and his warriors rose from the plains of Scythia, modern-day southern Russia and Kazakhstan, and spread terror across Europe. The citizens of the weakened Roman Empire gazed in fear and disdain upon these uncouth barbarians with tattooed faces and top-knotted hair. The Christianized Romans could not understand how God could allow these pagans to destroy their once-mighty empire; they called Attila the Scourge of God. Attila and his troops conquered vast swaths of Europe, from the straits of Constantinople to Paris, and from northern Italy to islands in the Baltic Sea. Who were the Huns? Who was Attila? The Huns Before Attila The Huns first enter the historical record far to the East of Rome. In fact, their ancestors probably were one of the nomadic peoples of the Mongolian steppe, whom the Chinese called the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu launched such devastating raids into China that they actually motivated the construction of first sections of the Great Wall of China. Around 85 A.D., the resurgent Han Chinese were able to inflict heavy defeats on the Xiongnu, prompting the nomadic raiders to scatter to the west. Some went as far as Scythia, where they were able to conquer a number of less fearsome tribes. Combined, these peoples became the Huns. Uncle Rua Rules the Huns At the time of Attilas birth, c. 406, the Huns were a loosely organized coalition of nomadic herder clans, each with a separate king. In the late 420s, Attilas uncle Rua seized power over all of the Huns and killed the other kings. This political change resulted from the Huns increasing reliance on tribute and mercenary payments from the Romans  and their decreased dependence on pastoralism. Rome paid Ruas Huns to fight for them. He also got 350 lbs of gold in annual tribute from the Eastern Roman Empire based in Constantinople. In this new, gold-based economy, people did not need to follow the herds; thus, power could be centralized. Attila and Bledas Rise to Power Rua died in 434 - history does not record the cause of death. He was succeeded by his nephews, Bleda and Attila. Its not clear why the older brother Bleda was unable to take sole power. Perhaps Attila was stronger or more popular. The brothers tried to extend their empire into Persia in the late 430s, but were defeated by the Sassanids. They sacked Eastern Roman cities at will, and Constantinople bought peace in exchange for an annual tribute of 700 lbs of gold in 435, rising to 1,400 lbs in 442. Meanwhile, the Huns fought as mercenaries in the Western Roman army against the Burgundians (in 436) and the Goths (in 439). The Death of Bleda In 445, Bleda suddenly died. As with Rua, no cause of death is recorded, but Roman sources from that time and modern historians alike believe that Attila probably killed him (or had him killed). As the sole King of the Huns, Attila invaded the Eastern Roman Empire, seizing the Balkans, and threatening earthquake-ravaged Constantinople in 447. The Roman Emperor sued for peace, handing over 6,000 pounds of gold in back-tribute, agreeing to pay 2,100 pounds annually, and returning fugitive Huns who had fled to Constantinople. These refugee Huns were probably the sons or nephews of the kings killed by Rua. Attila had them impaled. Romans Try to Assassinate Attila In 449, Constantinople sent an imperial ambassador, Maximinus, supposedly to negotiate with Attila over the creation of a buffer zone between Hunnic and Roman lands, and the return of more refugee Huns. The months-long preparation and journey were recorded by Priscus, an historian who went along. When the gift-laden train of Romans reached Attilas lands, they were rudely rebuffed. The ambassador (and Priscus) did not realize that Vigilas, their interpreter, had actually been sent to assassinate Attila, in collusion with Attilas counselor Edeco. After Edeco revealed the whole plot, Attila sent the Romans home in disgrace. Honorias Proposal A year after Attilas not-so-close brush with death, in 450, the Roman princess Honoria sent him a note and a ring. Honoria, the sister of Emperor Valentinian III, had been promised in marriage to a man she didnt like. She wrote and asked Attila to rescue her. Attila interpreted this as a marriage proposal  and happily accepted. Honorias dowry included half of the provinces in the Western Roman Empire, a very nice prize. The Roman Emperor refused to accept this arrangement, of course, so Attila gathered his army and set out to claim his newest wife. The Huns quickly overran much of modern-day France and Germany. Battle of the Catalaunian Fields The Huns sweep through Gaul was halted at the Catalaunian Fieds, in northeastern France. There, Attilas army ran up against the forces of his former friend and ally, the Roman General Aetius, along with some Alans and Visigoths. Unsettled by ill omens, the Huns waited until almost dusk to attack, and got the worse of the fighting. However, the Romans and their allies withdrew the next day. The battle was not conclusive, but it has been painted as Attilas Waterloo. Some historians even have claimed that Christian Europe might have been extinguished forever if Attila had won that day! The Huns went home to regroup. Attilas Invasion of Italy - The Pope Intervenes (?) Although he was defeated in France, Attila remained dedicated to marrying Honoria and acquiring her dowry. In 452, the Huns invaded Italy, which was weakened by a two-year long famine and epidemics of disease. They quickly captured fortified cities including Padua and Milan. However, the Huns were dissuaded from attacking Rome itself by the lack of food provisions available, and by the rampant disease all around them. Pope Leo later claimed to have met Attila and persuaded him to turn back, but its doubtful that this ever really happened. Nonetheless, the story added to the prestige of the early Catholic Church. Attilas Mysterious Death After his return from Italy, Attila married a teenaged girl named Ildiko. The marriage took place in 453  and was celebrated with a grand feast and plenty of alcohol. After dinner, the new couple retired to the wedding chamber for the night. Attila did not show up the next morning, so his nervous servants opened the chamber door. The king was dead on the floor (some accounts say covered with blood), and his bride was huddled in a corner in a state of shock. Some historians theorize that Ildiko murdered her new husband, but that seems unlikely. He may have suffered a hemorrhage, or he could have died of alcohol poisoning from the wedding night revels. Attilas Empire Falls After Attilas death, his three sons divided up the empire (reverting, in a way, to the pre-Uncle Rua political structure). The sons fought over which would be the high king. Eldest brother Ellac prevailed, but meanwhile, the Huns subject tribes broke free from the empire one by one. Only a year after Attilas death, the Goths defeated the Huns at the Battle of Nedao, driving them out of Pannonia (now western Hungary). Ellac was killed in battle, and Attilas second son Dengizich became the high king. Dengizich was determined to return the Hunnic Empire to the glory days. In 469, he sent a demand to Constantinople that the Eastern Roman Empire pay tribute to the Huns again. His younger brother Ernakh refused to get involved in this venture  and took his people out of Dengizichs alliance. The Romans refused Dengizichs demand. Dengizik attacked, and his army was crushed by Byzantine troops under General Anagestes. Dengizik was killed, along with the majority of his people. The remnants of Dengiziks clan joined Ernakhs people  and were absorbed by the Bulgars, ancestors of todays Bulgarians. Just 16 years after Attilas death, the Huns ceased to exist. The Legacy of Attila the Hun Attila is often portrayed as a cruel, bloodthirsty and barbaric ruler, but its important to remember that our accounts of him come from his enemies, the Eastern Romans. The historian Priscus, who went on the fateful embassy to Attilas court, also noted that Attila was wise, merciful, and humble. Priscus was amazed that the Hunnic king used simple wooden table implements, while his courtiers and guests ate and drank from silver and gold dishes. He did not kill the Romans who came to assassinate him, sending them home in disgrace instead. It is safe to say that Attila the Hun was a much more complex person than his modern reputation reveals.